Ǫlvǫr Lv 1VIII (Ǫrv 4)
Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.) 2017, ‘Ǫrvar-Odds saga 4 (Ǫlvǫr, Lausavísa 1)’ in Margaret Clunies Ross (ed.), Poetry in fornaldarsögur. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 8. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 813.
Serk ‘shirt’
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1. serkr (noun m.; °-s, dat. -/-i; -ir): shirt
[1] Serk: serkinn 343a, 471, 173ˣ
notes
[1] um frák ‘I have heard’: All mss have the verb frák, except for 344a, whose hefik hér is metrically less good and a lectio facilior. Ms. 7’s archaic pleonastic particle of has been normalised to the later um here in accordance with this volume’s policy of normalising to the period 1250-1300; see further Note to Ásm 1/3, 5. A similar normalisation from of to um occurs at Ǫrv 6/6 and 138/8.
notes
[1] um frák ‘I have heard’: All mss have the verb frák, except for 344a, whose hefik hér is metrically less good and a lectio facilior. Ms. 7’s archaic pleonastic particle of has been normalised to the later um here in accordance with this volume’s policy of normalising to the period 1250-1300; see further Note to Ásm 1/3, 5. A similar normalisation from of to um occurs at Ǫrv 6/6 and 138/8.
silki ‘silken’
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silki (noun n.): silk
[1] silki: silki corrected from silfri 344a, silfri 567IV, 471, sogni 343a, 173ˣ
notes
[2] sex ‘six’: Although only one ms. (344a) has this reading, it is assured both by metre and by the subject-matter of the stanza, which names six, not seven, places where the magic shirt was made.
görvan ‘made’
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1. gǫrr (adj.): ample, perfect
ermr ‘a sleeve’
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ermr (noun f.; °dat. & acc. ermi; ermar): sleeve
[3] ermr: so 344a, 567IV, ermr var 7, 343a, 471, 173ˣ
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
á ‘in’
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3. á (prep.): on, at
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
Íra ‘Ire’
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1. íri (noun m.; °; -ar): °indbygger i Irland, irlænder < Írland (noun n.): [Ireland]
[3] Íra‑: Ír‑ 471
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
landi ‘land’
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land (noun n.; °-s; *-): land < Írland (noun n.): [Ireland]
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
önnur ‘another’
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1. annarr (pron.; °f. ǫnnur, n. annat; pl. aðrir): (an)other, second
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
norðr ‘north’
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2. norðr (adv.): north
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
með ‘among’
(not checked:)
með (prep.): with
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
Finnum ‘the Saami’
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Finnr (noun m.): Saami (person)
notes
[3-4] ermr á Íralandi, önnur norðr með Finnum ‘a sleeve in Ireland, another north among the Saami’: Locations suggestive of magic, and in the former case, with the weaving of magical garments; cf. in particular Anon Darr 1-11V (Nj 53-63) and Orkn ch. 55 (ÍF 34, 117-19); see also Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15; Bek-Pedersen 2007). The reference to Hebridean women in l. 6 reinforces this theme.
Slógu ‘struck’
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2. slá (verb): strike, cut
notes
[5] slógu ‘struck [the weft]’: Probably a reference to the act of beating the weft-threads of the warp-weighted loom with a weaving baton or skeið, shaped like a sword, in order to keep the weft straight. Cf. Hoffmann (1964) and Poole (1991, 116-56, especially 132-6). CPB II, 355 suggests the meaning is ‘they beat the flax’ (though the shirt is said to be made of silk).
Saxa ‘of the Saxons’
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1. Saxi (noun m.; °; -ar): Saxon
meyjar ‘Maidens’
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mær (noun f.; °meyjar, dat. meyju; meyjar): maiden
en ‘and’
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2. en (conj.): but, and
suðreyskar ‘Hebrideans’
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suðreyskr (adj.): [Hebridean]
spunnu ‘spun’
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2. spinna (verb): [had spun]
váfu ‘wove’
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2. vefja (verb): wrap
valskar ‘southern’
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valskr (adj.): foreign, French
notes
[8] varp ‘cast [the warp]’: Lit. ‘threw’. Here the reference is probably to the action of casting the weft, the threads that cross from side to side of a web on the warp-weighted loom, at right angles to the warp threads with which they are interwoven. Cf. a similar use of the verb verpa in the context of weaving in Anon Darr 1/1, 2/1V(Nj 53, 54).
Óþjóðans ‘Óþjóðann’s’
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Óþjóðan (noun m.)
notes
[8] móðir Óþjóðans ‘Óþjóðann’s mother’: The name Óþjóðann is unknown. The name would mean lit. ‘Un-king’.
móðir ‘mother’
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móðir (noun f.): mother
notes
[8] móðir Óþjóðans ‘Óþjóðann’s mother’: The name Óþjóðann is unknown. The name would mean lit. ‘Un-king’.
Interactive view: tap on words in the text for notes and glosses
Oddr asks Ǫlvǫr whether she made the magic shirt all by herself, and this lausavísa is her response.
Uniquely in Ǫrv, this stanza is in the metre háttlausa ‘formless’ (cf. SnSt Ht 67III), a variant of dróttkvætt lacking internal rhyme. For this reason, some eds (Ǫrv 1892, 39 n. 15 and 42 n. 23) have doubted whether it originally belonged in Ǫrv.
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